November 25th, 2019, 01:54
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I don't know the exact rules of your variant, so maybe this isn't kosher for Link, but instead of farming rupees to buy arrows from towns, I've often found it's more efficient to head to a pack of Moblin mounted archers and just play tag with them a bit. They're terrible shots and you can usually scoops up 20-30 arrows in one go.
November 25th, 2019, 18:41
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(November 25th, 2019, 01:54)Chevalier Mal Fet Wrote: I don't know the exact rules of your variant, so maybe this isn't kosher for Link, but instead of farming rupees to buy arrows from towns, I've often found it's more efficient to head to a pack of Moblin mounted archers and just play tag with them a bit. They're terrible shots and you can usually scoops up 20-30 arrows in one go.
The "Vegetarian Link" variant rules go mostly like this:
-Food can only be made from plants and fungi. If Link picks up materials made from enemies by mistake like Keese Wings, they must be dropped on the ground. Cooked meat and elixirs must be sold if he collects them somehow, like as a quest reward. Regarding the latter, who knows what's in that stuff?
-Any armor or weapon can be used, though Great Fairy upgrades are effectively forbidden because those recipes all use enemy parts from what I can tell. A "vegetarian" challenge would be much different in Skyrim because so much equipment is explicitly made from leather. (Not that the leather thing would stop the hypocritical elves from the Eragon series!)
-Killing animals in self-defense is allowed, though running away is preferred. Link's dietary restrictions are a way to preserve ritual purity, not a vow of pacifism. Think Daniel's fast in Babylon from the Bible and you'll have roughly the right idea. Link has had to cut down a wolf or two throughout the adventure. (Your "kosher" comment is more apt than you may have thought. . .)
-Link rode a wild horse for a bit before letting it go, but it seemed more in the spirit of the variant to wander around on foot or by Paraglider. Link has a romantic idea about horses being wild and free! Being tethered to a sand seal is required to enter Vah Nabooris, so no variant can be strict about "no beasts of burden". This condition is for role-playing, and not a hard rule.
"Vegetarian Link" is more of a role-playing scenario rather than a challenge run in practice, though I didn't know that when I started the game. Plants and fungi are diverse enough in Hyrule to provide all the necessary healing and buffs. If you want to make Breath of the Wild much harder, do a "Level 5 Vegan" challenge based on the Simpsons episode where Link doesn't eat "anything that casts a shadow". (Some players call this "Inn to Win".)
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
T-Hawk, on my Final Fantasy Legend 2 All Robot Challenge.
November 25th, 2019, 20:36
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Breath of the Wild: "Vegetarian" Link Part 14
Link fumbled his way to Goron City on the volcanic Death Mountain by shoving food down his throat, and once auto-reviving with Mipha's Grace. I was wondering after the fact how players were actually supposed to do this sequence, and I learned online that Flame Resistance was an elixir bonus. . .and elixirs were ineligible for the variant anyway. Link limped to the armor store in his Gerudo clothes and quickly paid the shopkeeper for some Flame Resistance gear.
Shae Mo'sah Shrine's puzzle required Link to swing around torches, sometimes with Magnesis, other times by cutting a rope. But once, Link got around this by shooting a Fire Arrow at the brush holding an object up. Link needed to step on pressure plates to get a ball to roll onto a wheel, then dash through a gate before it closed.
Qua Raym Shrine's A Balanced Approach was another scale puzzle. Link shot an arrow through a brazier while crouching to burn a wooden box on one scale, then placed a steel box to lift him up to the exit. He had to be quick to avoid the spiked ceiling!
Daqa Koh Shrine's Stalled Flight challenge was simple. Link launched up with pistons, then landed on the massive power block platform when it descended. Link froze this power block with Stasis, then glided to the exit.
Gorae Torr Shrine was another mini-dungeon where the challenge was located outside. A Goron blocked the entrance, and would only leave if Link passed the Gut Check Challenge. To win, Link had to climb the tall stone pillar, collecting at least 100 Rupees along the way. This was easy with jumping, and occasionally resting on the footholds once Link's Stamina Wheel was low.
But the most interesting incident this episode occurred between shrines. Link encountered about 3 Igneo Taluses, a kind of lava rock monster. Link froze each with Ice Arrows, cast Stasis when it used its slam attack, then climbed up and struck the "gem" at the top. When defeated, an Igneo Talus dropped gemstones like Opals. This presented a dilemma for Link. Were Hyrulian gemstones actually the flesh of sentient beings? He had considered the animal and vegetable kingdoms, but not the mineral. He dismissed these quandaries with this casuistry: "It's a rock".
Link happily hunted each Igneo Talus to harvest its cold, dead rock to sell for more cash later.
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
T-Hawk, on my Final Fantasy Legend 2 All Robot Challenge.
November 26th, 2019, 20:04
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Breath of the Wild: "Vegetarian" Link Part 15
Tonight's Zelda session made no progress regarding the story, but Link did at least clear a couple of shrines. Raqa Zunzo Shrine did not have a test inside, but to get in, Link needed to beat the 1:30:00 record for the sand seal slalom in the Gerudo region. This was easy once I knew the course layout. The "prize" was a sphere to put into a goal and make the shrine rise out of the sands.
Skulking around Arbiter's Grounds was almost fatal when the miniboss Molduga jumped out of the ground. There was no way Link would defeat this, so he had to retreat by map screen teleport. Arbiter's Grounds was a dungeon in Twilight Princess. Hyrulians must pay more attention in history class than Earthlings do, if people and places are remembered with little linguistic corruption.
A long time was spent trying and failing to reach a shrine in the Hebra mountains where Link could see it, but was unable to fit through a narrow crack. The Icefall Foothills in the far northwest of Hyrule was a better bet, because what programmer would put lowlands in such a remote region and give it a name unless there was something worthwhile? Hia Mu Shrine contained A Major Test of Strength, which was won with some variation of the Ancient Battleaxe, Stasis, and attack boosting food.
(Upgrade Stasis as soon as you can get to Hateno Ancient Tech Lab. It's essential to any one-on-one fight.)
Link sold his jewels and bought an Ancient Cuirass at the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab. This would protect him from Guardian attacks if necessary. He didn't have enough scrap parts to complete the armor set, though.
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
T-Hawk, on my Final Fantasy Legend 2 All Robot Challenge.
November 27th, 2019, 20:56
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Breath of the Wild: "Vegetarian" Link Part 16
Link attempted several Rito Village Shrine Quests and failed. The Bird in the Mountains seemed promising when Molli said that there was a giant bird around a tall cedar in the Hebra Mountains. But no bird appeared when Link climbed to the top. Recital at Warbler's Nest had one Rito who demanded salmon, thus rendering it ineligible for this meat-free variant.
Shada Naw Shrine's Red Giveaway test was easy when Link tossed the ball into the area around the goal, climbed through, then cast Stasis before it rolled down and activated the one-way elevator to the exit. Apparently he was supposed to take advantage of a steel box and wind turbines, but Breath of the Wild allowed him to cheat its puzzles. So long as they didn't involve stealth.
Selmie's Spot was a nearby lodge where a woman held a shield surfing contest. This was entertaining for a few minutes, but pointless as the promised prize would only be a shield for the advanced course.
Climbing Hebra Peak, the tallest mountain in the northwestern Hyrule range, had a rock with a Korok under it, but more importantly, Link saw a meteor fall from the sky. He glided there and found a treasure chest with Salvager Trousers that offered a Swim Speed Up bonus. This was part of the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 promotion, and while the armor was welcome, it probably will not be useful later in the playthrough. Swimming requires a high Stamina Wheel, and Link doesn't dive like his Ocarina of Time ancestor.
Goma Asaagh Shrine was around a low point near Hebra Peak, and Link reached it by gliding over ice walls, then melting the ice blocking the Sheikah Slate lock with a Fire Arrow. Its challenge, A Major Test of Strength, was rote at this point. The only difference was that the floor was damp, but this seemed to have no effect on gameplay, even when Link released a Shock Arrow.
Rok Uwog Shrine was buried under a mesa of sorts supported by ice legs in the northeastern area of the Hebra Mountains. It was easily visible from above due to Breath of the Wild's excellent draw distance. Its Power of Reach test was based on using a Torch to burn plants covering a gap in the wall and a wooden crate supporting a "seesaw" platform. The final puzzle had a locked gate with metal prison bars in front of two wooden barrels holding down a pressure plate. A careful Fire Arrow shot eliminated those, and Link received another Spirit Orb.
From here on out, all Spirit Orbs are going to Heart Containers. A larger Stamina Wheel would be nothing more than a luxury, while monsters deal so much damage in Breath of the Wild that more health could be necessary.
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
T-Hawk, on my Final Fantasy Legend 2 All Robot Challenge.
November 28th, 2019, 11:29
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Breath of the Wild: "Vegetarian" Link Part 16
Instead of scouring the Hebra Mountains, Link decided to climb Mount Lanayru. At the top was the Chinese style dragon Naydra, who was corrupted by Malice eyes. (i.e. the "monster generators" in the Divine Beasts.) Link had to shoot each Malice eye as the dragon was flying around, sometimes in midair with the Paraglider and updrafts. Mipha's Grace auto-revive unfortunately had to be used when Link accidentally took massive fall damage.
Once Naydra was free from the curse, the holy statue commanded Link to shoot the dragon with an arrow. This caused Naydra's Scale to drift to the ground, which Link offered to the statue. Jitan Sa'mi Shrine, one without a puzzle, was unlocked as a reward.
No shrines were present on Wintre Island to the northeast, but Link found 100 Rupees in a chest, and a Korok Seed after chasing down all the "teleporting flowers".
Mapla Point was a peninsula with a lake that was home to the Stone Talus, a lesser version of the Igneo Talus. It may have been trickier to fight, however, because the weak spot "jewel" was on the back instead of on top. The Stone Talus liked to throw its arms to attack, and this was sometimes hard to dodge. At least no Ice Arrows were required. Gems were the reward as was usual for Talus battles. More teleporting flowers led to a Korok, and another was available when Link placed the loose stones into gaps in a circle. (Stasis vision comes in handy for finding interactive objects!)
One Korok hid under a stone arch in the Lodrum Headland peninsula. With all these new seeds, Link upgraded his melee weapon capacity.
Link warped to the Gerudo Highlands, only to find that he could not climb Mount Agaat: "You can't go any farther". Why was this area out-of-bounds when it was within the Sheikah Slate map? Kema Kokassa Shrine was nearby, however, and contained A Major Test of Strength with a damp floor. At last, I figured out why the floor was wet: the developers meant for players to cast Cryonis to stop the robot's spinning dash attack. But Stasis was better.
Link glided down from the Gerudo Highlands to Kema Zoos Shrine in the northwestern Gerudo desert, which was found under a giant ribcage. A Delayed Puzzle demanded that Link freeze an electric sphere being launched between 2 pistons with Stasis, then drag it with Magnesis over to the switch that activated the exit. His Sheikah Slate map became only static in the southeastern Gerudo desert. Was this because of a sandstorm, or a quirk of that particular region?
When he found no new shrines, Link returned to Akkala Ancient Tech Lab to see if he could buy new armor. He couldn't, so I wondered if he could beat up one of the laser statue Guardians. He could, and this was easy with Stasis and two-handed weapons. This victory felt so good after the struggles at the beginning of the game that Link scrapped other Guardians around Central Tower, and one on the Great Plateau.
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
T-Hawk, on my Final Fantasy Legend 2 All Robot Challenge.
November 28th, 2019, 19:03
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Joined: Feb 2018
Breath of the Wild: "Vegetarian" Link Part 17
Yunobo the Goron was trapped behind some rocks on a small island in a lava sea near Goron City, and this puzzle stumped me enough that I needed a guide. There were various cannons around the other islands that could turn in a different direction by whacking a switch with a weapon. Then Link dropped a round bomb into the hole and detonated it to send a rock to a target. That was the easy part. What I was supposed to do, however, was to shoot in the middle of the rotation, which I did not figure out.
Before that was finished, Link glided to Shora Hah Shrine on another island, which I did figure out. This was an unusually long mini-dungeon with many Torch puzzles. Link needed to duck under water jets, shoot an arrow at an elevator platform, drag a block with Magnesis and freeze a faucet with Stasis, and finally be in the exact position to spin attack with the Torch to light a circle of braziers.
Once Yunobo was free, Link escorted him up Death Mountain and launched him out of cannons to hit Vah Rudania, this area's Divine Beast. (The Gerudo remember Nabooru perfectly, but the Gorons turn Darunia into an anagram?) The danger here was being detected by small helicopter robots with spotlights. To get rid of them, Link pushed Magnesis blocks into them, blew them up with bombs carried by an updraft, or simply covered an archway with a Magnesis bridge. For an escort mission, this wasn't too bad.
Vah Rudania's dungeon, however, seemed like it required the length of several other Divine Beast. Vah Rudania was almost completely dark until Link found the map terminal. Vah Rudania was small, and only had two possible rotation orientations. I hadn't figured out before this part of the game that you can light the tip of your arrow on fire on a brazier, then walk somewhere else before firing. This was required to shoot an arrow through a small gap at a brazier. Link then blocked flame jets with Magnesis to reach the terminal.
The final puzzle made me briefly look at a guide, then shake my head when the easy solution was revealed. Link needed to carry a Torch with a blue flame onto Vah Rudania's back, then light the brazier. This looked harder than it was. Death Mountain's heat would consume any Torch that didn't already have a blue flame, and I wondered if I was supposed to shoot an arrow somehow. Several rotations were needed to bring the Torch to the right place. When the brazier was active, a gate opened, releasing a ball that rolled down the path. Lifting a Magnesis block at the end pushed the ball into the goal, unlocking the final terminal.
(I was never particularly good at video game puzzles. . .)
Fireblight Ganon was another easy boss. For the most part, it stayed low to the ground, slashing with its giant sword. This left it open to Master Sword strikes. At half health, the boss created a fire force field and sucked in air. Throwing a bomb into the wind detonated the shield, and Fireblight Ganon crashed down. More Master Sword slashes won Link a Heart Container and Daruk's Protection, a force field that could be activated by holding the shield button. The Zora and Rito gave far better gifts than the Gerudo and Gorons. . .
All Link has to do now is clear Hyrule Castle and defeat Calamity Ganon. Most of the easily found Shrines are complete, and locating any more would require substantial guide spoilers.
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
T-Hawk, on my Final Fantasy Legend 2 All Robot Challenge.
November 29th, 2019, 16:53
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Joined: Feb 2018
Breath of the Wild: "Vegetarian" Link Finale
Link had completed all the sidequests he needed for this playthrough, and so it was off to Hyrule Castle when he glided off Central Tower. This was difficult as there were Guardians shooting lasers everywhere. Link killed a few with Stasis and 2-handed weapons, but often ran away too.
Hyrule Castle wasn't really a dungeon so much as a Guardian gauntlet. Link got past most of them by either jumping up walls, or taking a Revali's Gale updraft. One laser zapped him along the way, though Link had prepared by keeping a large stock of vegan food in his inventory.
The Divine Beasts opened fire on Calamity Ganon in the first phase of the fight, removing half its HP. The next phase was simple too, as Link could simply slash with his 60 power Master Sword, or shoot with arrows in midair. But the next phase made up for Calamity Ganon's poor performance at the beginning. He surrounded himself with a glowing force field, which could only be removed by reflecting his Guardian gun's shots with Daruk's Protection. It took a while to figure this out, and longer for Daruk's Protection to restore itself after a cooldown period. (It activates whether you like it or not when you hold out your shield.)
Link chomped much of his food supply to survive the fire sword slashes, shots, and fireballs. Once Daruk's Protection recharged, Link defeated Calamity Ganon, only to activate the "interactive cutscene" sequence of the final boss. Zelda gave Link a Bow of Light to shoot glowing targets on Ganon's side. The trick was that Link had to do so on horseback, and Breath of the Wild must have had the worst horse controls of any video game I've played. Even Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64 did it better.
Turning the horse to move into range and avoid the slow-moving lasers was more difficult than it should have been, and Mipha's Grace was needed to save Link from a DEATH COUNT when an enemy attack connected. The final part involved dismounting the horse, then gliding into an updraft and using bullet time to shoot the Malice eye on Ganon's head. Zelda sealed Ganon with her light magic and Triforce powers, and vegan Link became the hero he failed to be 100 years ago. (No butter, milk, or cheese for him!)
This was a fun challenge, though it didn't seem all that different from a normal playthrough. Link had many buffs available from cooking plants and fungi, including temporary Heart Containers, attack and defense increases, faster running, and enhanced stealth. The only notable downside was having to rush from the beginning of the volcano region to Goron City's armor shop while constantly taking damage because fire resistance elixirs were banned. Armor upgrades that used animal parts weren't necessary. So at least one Nethack "conduct" is possible in Breath of the Wild, even though it plays nothing like a roguelike.
Link's Final Equipment:
Bow: Knight's Bow Attack Up +5
Melee Weapon: Master Sword
Shield: Daybreaker
Head: Flamebreaker Helm
Feet: Flamebreaker Boots
Body: Ancient Cuirass
If you have tried any interesting Breath of the Wild challenge playthroughs, mention them in the comments! I'd like to read about them.
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
T-Hawk, on my Final Fantasy Legend 2 All Robot Challenge.
January 30th, 2020, 20:28
Posts: 3,135
Threads: 25
Joined: Feb 2018
Adventures of Nudist Link Part 1
Link began the game in the Shrine of Resurrection just as Hylia created him. What appeared to be "shorts" were really part of Hylian biology. Everyone in the world regarded Link as being naked in spite of the developers' concession to modesty, so my idea seems to fit.
The first sign that people would treat differently was when the ghost of King Rhoam asked this: "If I may be so bold. . .are you not chilly?" Link stole his Baked Apple and moved on, making sure to jump into the ring in the pond to get the Korok Seed. He activated the Great Plateau Tower and completed the 1st shrine to get Magnesis.
After that, he was free to complete the rest of the Great Plateau in any order. Link dashed toward Ja Baij Shrine, making sure to go behind the ruined abbey to avoid being nuked by statue lasers. Along the way, he tried to fight some Bokoblins in their skull lair, but failed to defeat one of them due to his lack of attack power.
Link passed the Bomb Trial and started tossing Remote Bombs when he returned to the Bokoblin hideout. Their tendency to keep explosive barrels nearby helped Link's cause, and he received Fire Arrows for his trouble. Another Bokoblin camp near some crates yielded a Throwing Spear. Link cleared out a beehive by throwing Remote Bombs indiscriminately and got Bomb Arrows from a treasure chest the bugs were guarding.
Instead of chopping down the tree with an axe like King Rhoam suggested, Link instead dropped a Remote Bomb at the bottom of the trunk. This worked better than it should have. He then climbed the cliff towards the Stasis Trial and collected Rushrooms along the way.
Link defeated another Bokoblin campsite by swinging around a convenient Magnesis block lying around, and acquired Amber to sell later. The tree fort near the aptly named River of the Dead had several more Bokoblins. Link shot some arrows to kill them safely, and found a Soldier's Broadsword for 14 attack power. He cooked Spicy Sauteed Peppers to gain just enough Cold Resistance to cross the River of the Dead and climb the snowy mountain towards the Cryonis Trial. Throwing Spear stabs were just beyond the Bokoblins' attack range and defeated them easily.
I was so eager to get Link to Kakariko Village that I forgot to visit the Hylia statue to pick up a Heart Container. I didn't even realize you could skip talking to the statue in the first place. Good to know for anyone who wants to try a Nethack style "atheist" challenge. At least Link visited Bosh Kala shrine and passed its Paraglider challenge before crossing the long bridge!
Link fought EVIL wherever he went, taking out any Bokoblin camps he could see. One of them near a bridge had a tough Bokoblin that fell when Link bombed it and swiped the Soldier's Broadsword when it hit the ground. His emulation of a Hudson hero was his downfall when he was caught in his own explosion when he fought more Bokoblins near the Dueling Peaks tower.
DEATH COUNT: 1
The shrine sensor for the Sheikah Slate was acquired after activating the Dueling Peaks tower and getting a map of that region. Link climbed along the ledges of the Dueling Peaks and mined gemstones with his Iron Sledgehammer acquired from the Stasis Trial. Link's last dream in the Shrine of Resurrection was about a crudely drawn ancestor saying he could eat an Octorok, so of course he shot them down with arrows. When Lizalfos swam and spit at Link, he practiced his dynamite fishing skills.
Along the way to Kakariko, Link visited Ree Dahee on the ridge, then glided down to Ha Dahamar next to the Dueling Peaks Stable. He was not allowed to wear clothing, but he had no qualms with selling the Climber's Bandanna from Ree Dahee to Beedle for 600 Rupees. He bankrupted the traveling merchant, or possibly gave him merchandise for a jewelry venture.
Conveniently, wild horses roamed the plains near Dueling Peaks Stable. The first 2 that Link attempted to mount bucked him off. Probably because they wanted nothing to do with a naked man sneaking up on them from behind in the rain. The 3rd horse was more docile, and had 2 stars in Strength, Speed, and Stamina. The pink spotted mare was named GODIVA. What else?
Link saved Hestu's maracas by chucking Remote Bombs from a hill above the Bokoblins, sending them flying off the cliff. He acquired a melee weapon inventory upgrade from the eccentric Korok.
In Kakariko Village, Link prayed and received 2 Heart Containers after clearing Ta'loh Naeg and its combat tutorial mission.
Paya, the shy woman at Impa's house, shouted "Th-that immodest outfit is quite unbecoming of a hero like you! P-please cover yourself up this instant!" Claree of the clothing shop was not impressed by Link's fashion: "The fact that you showed up out of nowhere-and stark naked, no less-means you're likely a total creep". She was correct, as Link had no intention of buying her wares, and sauntered inside merely to taunt her.
Link teleported back to Dueling Peaks Tower to pick up a Korok Seed from an islet near a raft. He rode back to Hestu and exchanged his last 2 Korok Seeds for another melee weapon slot upgrade. Anyone who knows enough about this game will laugh right now if they know enough about Hestu, but I'll keep it a surprise until it becomes relevant. (There were several aborted attempts at a naked Link playthrough quite a while ago when I was between games, so it's not going in blind.)
Shrines Cleared (in order)
Oman Au, Magnesis Trial
Ja Baij, Bomb Trial
Owa Daim, Stasis Trial
Keh Namut, Cryonis Trial
Bosh Kala, The Wind Guides You
Ree Dahee, Timing is Critical
Ha Dahamar, The Water Guides
Ta’loh Naeg, Ta’loh Naeg’s Teaching
Towers Activated
Great Plateau
Dueling Peaks
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
T-Hawk, on my Final Fantasy Legend 2 All Robot Challenge.
February 1st, 2020, 09:31
Posts: 3,135
Threads: 25
Joined: Feb 2018
Adventures of Nudist Link Part 2
I played this session last night, but didn't have the time to make a proper post until this morning.
Link rode GODIVA the horse towards Hateno Village after Impa piqued his curiosity. Link encountered Toma on horseback and was appalled by her vanity. She claimed to have spent all her Rupees on a "neckerchief". Link could forgive those who wore clothing for Defense value, but a neckerchief with no function?
Our hero hopped across a stream with Cryonis ice pillars to battle a Bokoblin camp. Their tendency to keep explosive barrels nearby doomed Ganon's minions again. Link received an Opal for his victory. Bokoblins near a narrow natural bridge threatened Link with. . .Farming Hoes? These tools had 16 Attack, more than many of the proper weapons in the game. Link tossed Remote Bombs to get rid of them, and fed GODIVA an Apple as an apology after one of the Bokoblins attacked her.
Another Bokoblin on the other side of the natural bridge had a much lesser weapon: a 5 Attack Wooden Mop. This functioned like a spear instead of a 2-handed weapon like the Farming Hoe. Link shot that enemy with Arrows in addition to a Moblin, who wasn't as durable as its appearance suggested. Unfortunately, the Wooden Mop broke after knocking out about 2 or 3 of the weakest Bokoblins. Too bad the joke weapons are breakable!
Closer to Hateno Village was a Bokoblin fort with explosive barrels. Link shot a Bomb Arrow to make the left side explode, while Bokoblins returned fire by throwing barrels. This scorched the ground and generated enough heat to make an updraft that Link could use to glide to one section of the fort. He killed the rest of the Bokoblins and received an Opal and some Arrows for his trouble.
Two travelers in the woods close to Hateno Village were being assaulted by Bokoblins, so of course Link charged into battle to save them. His refusal to wear protection from temperature or enemy attacks implied that he was impulsive in other situations as well. These Bokoblins died to Soldier's Broadsword slashes. Link had several of those after earlier conflicts. The travelers introduced themselves as Meghyn and Nat, and they said they were looking for truffles. They weren't going to find any by stopping at some random tree! If they had a Sheikah Slate and "Stasis vision", they could find them more easily.
Toma appeared again at the entrance to Hateno Village and asked: "Quick question for you. . .How do you do when the weather gets. . .extreme? You know, like, too hot or too cold?" Link would have given a dissertation about elixirs and cooking, but no dialogue options were available.
A boy named Teebo told Link to check out something interesting. This was a demonic statue that stole one of Link's Heart Containers after speaking to it. Link demanded that he give it back, and the statue complied. Perhaps it thought that if Link would trudge through Hyrule naked, then he wasn't afraid of anything.
Myahm Agana was easy with the YouTube "tilt the platform upside down" trick. It sure beat having to get a ball through a maze with the Switch's motion controls!
Purah at Hateno Ancient Tech Lab observed that "your scars from 100 years ago have mostly healed". Link carried the blue flame once used for the Hyrule Olympic Games to her lab, then upgraded his Remote Bombs and Sheikah Sensor with the scrap he had found. He also got the Camera and Hyrule Compendium.
Link observed the ritual of going to clothing stores to flaunt his nudity. Sophie took it well: "People who lack clothes just love it here at Ventest Clothing!"
Our hero backtracked to Hateno Tower to get a map for southeastern Hyrule. He noticed a goat running into a patch of thorns until it died, and thought it an event that usually only happened in Tamriel. Link burned the thorns with his Fire Arrows.
Link's next stop in his travels was the cliff were Muwo Jeem was located. He was never going to pass the higher level Test of Strength trials with his low health and lack of offensive Stasis and Attack food, but it was still a good idea to activate the teleporter so he could return later. A Bokoblin skull lair was on the same cliff, and one Bokoblin slew Link with a sword after a long battle.
DEATH COUNT: 2
The reward chest from the skull lair wasn't even worth it: a Soldier's Spear which he ignored. But Link was in it to save Hyrule, not just for petty material gain. Link glided down to Chaas Qeta islet and activated its teleporter too. But that was another Test of Strength that Link wasn't prepared for.
Link didn't see much that was interesting on Hateno Beach, except for some gems on craggy rocks. He glided below the jagged terrain, only to run into a Hinox cyclops! Link slaughtered his 1st miniboss with tactics. Mostly climbing on a rock out of reach of melee and shooting Arrows or throwing Remote Bombs. The eye was a weak spot. Link was in no real danger as long as he dodged the small rocks that the Hinox threw at him. After he won, Link collected the Hinox's toenails, which will supposedly make elixirs later.
Without any other leads, Link warped back to Kakariko Village and began the dull sidequests there. Shooting Fire Arrows at the torches near the Hylia statue cost 80 Rupees, and Rola the shopkeeper only gave 20 as a reward. How cheap!
Another Kakariko resident wanted to see a Great Fairy fountain, but was too feeble to walk all the way there. When Link paid 100 Rupees to save Cotena, she said "I'd love to enhance your clothing, but you don't seem to be carrying any. Or wearing any for that matter. . .". Hopefully there's a pun in a Spanish version, because "llevar" means both "to wear" and "to carry".
Cado the Cucco maniac guard was more generous than his estranged wife, and gave Link 50 Rupees for throwing his chickens back into the pen. This was necessary for a Shrine Quest that will be covered in a future update.
In case you haven't guessed, there's a "mini-variant" involving Link fighting as many enemies as possible. This won't apply later in the game, of course, but does make the exploration more fun.
Shrines
Myahm Agano, Myahm Agano Apparatus
Towers
Hateno
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
T-Hawk, on my Final Fantasy Legend 2 All Robot Challenge.
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